TWI676390B - Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for allocating bandwidth for push and pull content requests in a content delivery network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for operating a content delivery network. The method includes assigning priorities to a communication link connecting a first server and a second server in the content delivery network to push and pull, respectively. Content request; and one of the output bandwidths of the push content request from the first server to the second server based on the priority levels assigned to the push and pull content requests to the communication link, respectively A push portion, and a pull portion for requesting a pull content to assign one of the output bandwidth from the first server to the second server.

Description

Method, device and computer program product for assigning bandwidth to push and pull content requests in a content delivery network

The present invention relates to communication networks, and more particularly, the present invention relates to bandwidth assignment for delivering content in a content delivery network.

In view of the bandwidth limitations in content distribution networks, content providers have long been working on how to provide content to their consumers with high availability and efficiency. A content delivery network (CDN) may be one of the larger distributed systems of servers used in multiple data centers connected to the Internet or other public / private communication networks. The goal of a CDN is to use high availability and high performance servo media content (such as video / audio, etc.) to the user equipment node (UE). Exemplary UEs that can receive media content are set-top boxes, televisions, multimedia computers, and wireless terminals (eg, smartphones and tablets).

Media content requests from UEs are usually algorithmically directed to a CDN server that is best in some way. CDNs can be a content owner that owns, manages, and / or associates with a content owner a central location / data center to deliver files to various regional servers and eventually to edge servers or UE nodes, which are positioned at Near the end user. These systems often operate according to a "pull" philosophy, in which servers farther from the edge are more cached. Content on near-edge servers. A server in a CDN will typically redirect a client to a location somewhere in the server hierarchy based on the content hosting location. If the content is determined to be popular in a known location, the user can then be redirected to an edge server closer to the user's location. There are also "push" schemes, where, for example, video on demand (VOD) can be promoted throughout the CDN based on authorized window information and / or expected content popularity. For example, titles that are popular in movie theaters and will be released within a week can be pushed out to various nodes in the CDN to meet the desired purchase / viewing needs.

However, because content is usually distributed across CDN nodes (including edge nodes) with a best effort scheme, the CDN's ability to prioritize the distribution of file transmissions / optimize the distribution of file transmissions is often limited. There are limited ways to prioritize specific content files or content associated with specific owners / operators based on popularity or other criteria. Furthermore, CDNs generally lack the ability to prioritize content delivery between and between content promotion and / or push schemes across a CDN.

Some embodiments relate to a method of operating a content delivery network, the method comprising: assigning priority levels to push and pull on a communication link connecting a first server and a second server in the delivery network, respectively Content request; and a push portion that assigns one of the output bandwidth from the first server to the second server to the push content request and the pull content request assignment based on the priority assigned to the communication link to push and pull the content request, respectively A pull portion of one of the output bandwidth from the first server to the second server.

Advantageously, the subject embodiments of the present invention can provide improved CDN bandwidth by dynamically assigning bandwidth to push and pull pipelines and individual content file streams within such pipelines based on the desired priorities at the pipeline level and the content file level. use. Furthermore, the subject embodiment of the present invention allows the use of the push pipeline in the CDN to transmit lower priority content files. The CDN bandwidth is therefore adjusted to deliver the files when they are needed at a destination, while retaining as much bandwidth as possible to Serve higher priority user requests through the pull pipeline in the CDN.

Priority can also be assigned to individual content files transmitted via the push and / or pull bandwidth portion. For example, the method may further include: assigning priority to a first plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to a second server; assigning priority to a second plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to a second server ; Respectively assigning a plurality of sections to a first plurality of content files based on a priority level assigned to the first plurality of content files to the driving portion of the output bandwidth of the first server to the second server; and The priority of the second plurality of content files is assigned from the plurality of parts of the pull portion of the output bandwidth of the first server to the second server to the second plurality of content files.

The priority assigned to the push and pull bandwidth portion can be based on various criteria, including, but not limited to, the current state of content distribution in the CDN and / or time of day. The priority of individual content files in the push and / or pull bandwidth section can also be based on various criteria, including, but not limited to, when to access content files from an edge server, and which edges the content files are intended to be sent to Node, whether the content file is associated with a video on demand (VOD) service, whether the content file is associated with a live broadcast topic that occurs on-the-fly and / or the current status of the content distribution in the CDN.

Looking at the following drawings and detailed description, those skilled in the art will understand other methods, devices and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present invention. It is anticipated that all of these additional methods, devices, and computer program products may be included within this description, within the scope of the present invention, and protected by accompanying technical solutions. Furthermore, it is contemplated that all embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented individually or combined in any manner and / or combination.

100‧‧‧ Content Delivery Network

105‧‧‧Central Data Center Node Server

110‧‧‧ Bandwidth Assignment Module

115a‧‧‧Server

115b‧‧‧Server

115c‧‧‧Server

120‧‧‧ Bandwidth Assignment Module

125a‧‧‧Edge Node

125b‧‧‧Edge Node

125c‧‧‧Edge Node

130a‧‧‧client device

130b‧‧‧client device

130c‧‧‧client device

200‧‧‧ Data Processing System

205‧‧‧input device

210‧‧‧ Display

215‧‧‧Memory

220‧‧‧Processor

225‧‧‧Storage System

230‧‧‧Speaker

235‧‧‧I / O data port

240‧‧‧ Bandwidth Assignment Module

300‧‧‧ processor

305‧‧‧Memory

310‧‧‧Address / Data Bus

315‧‧‧Operating System

330‧‧‧ Push / Pull Request Bandwidth Assignment Module

335‧‧‧Content File Bandwidth Assignment Module

340‧‧‧Content file queue

345‧‧‧Communication Module

400‧‧‧box

410‧‧‧block

505‧‧‧Central Data Center Server

515a‧‧‧area server

515b‧‧‧area server

515c‧‧‧area server

525a‧‧‧Edge Server

525b‧‧‧Edge Server

525c‧‧‧Edge Server

600‧‧‧box

610‧‧‧block

620‧‧‧block

630‧‧‧block

705‧‧‧central data center server

715a‧‧‧area server

715b‧‧‧area server

715c‧‧‧area server

815b‧‧‧Server

825a‧‧‧Edge Server

825b‧‧‧Edge Server

825c‧‧‧Edge Server

900‧‧‧ blocks

910‧‧‧block

1000‧‧‧ cubes

1010‧‧‧box

1100‧‧‧box

1110‧‧‧box

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate specific non-limiting embodiments of the invention. In the drawing: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a content delivery network (CDN) according to some embodiments of the present invention; 2 is a block diagram illustrating a data processing system including a bandwidth assignment module capable of implementing a server in the CDN of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data processing system according to the present invention; Some embodiments illustrate a block diagram of a software / hardware architecture for bandwidth allocation in a CDN server; FIG. 4 illustrates some embodiments according to the subject matter of the present invention. And FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for assigning bandwidth based on priority of content. FIG. 5 illustrates some embodiments of the present invention for assigning bandwidth based on priority assigned to pushing and pulling content requests. A block diagram of a CDN network, one of the operations; FIG. 6 illustrates some embodiments of the subject of the present invention for assigning bandwidth within the push and pull portion of the bandwidth to the content file based on the priority assigned to the content file FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate some embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention for assigning bandwidth within a push and pull portion of a bandwidth based on a priority level assigned to a content file. CDN content of the web width to a block diagram of one file; and FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 of the subject system in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention is a flow diagram illustrating further operations of a server in the CDN for the bandwidth assignment embodiment.

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Some embodiments are related to a content delivery network, where the output bandwidth from a server can be further divided into a push part and a pull part for processing push content requests and pull content requests, respectively. The size of the push and pull portions of the bandwidth is based on the relative priority assigned to push and pull content requests. In addition to assigning respective bandwidth portions to push and pull content requests based on the relative priority assigned to push and pull types, priority can also be assigned Rights to individual content files transmitted via push and / or pull bandwidth sections. The bandwidth assigned to individual content files may be based on the relative priority assigned to individual files in both the push and pull bandwidth portions. The priority assigned to the push and pull bandwidth portion may be based on various criteria, including, but not limited to, the current status and / or time of day of the content distribution in the content delivery network (CDN). In order not to waste the available bandwidth, when there is no pull content request, the pull bandwidth portion may be assigned to serve the push request and vice versa. The priority of individual content files within the push and / or pull bandwidth section can also be based on various criteria, including, but not limited to, when to access content files from an edge server, and which edges the content files are intended to be sent to Node, whether the content file is associated with a video on demand (VOD) service, whether the content file is associated with a live broadcast topic that occurs on-the-fly, and / or the current status of the content distribution in the CDN. The subject embodiments of the present invention therefore allow bandwidth to be assigned based on the dynamic priority of the pipeline level and content file level across the portion or pipeline that pushes and pulls the bandwidth and individual content file stream dynamics within those pipelines.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a CDN 100 according to some embodiments of the subject invention. The CDN includes a central data center node server 105 coupled to one of a plurality of regional nodes, the plurality of regional nodes including servers 115a, 115b, and 115c, which in turn are coupled to a plurality of edge nodes including servers 125a, 125b, and 125c. The edge nodes 125a, 125b, and 125c serve content to user equipment (UE) nodes represented by the client device 130a, 130b, and 130c. As shown in FIG. 1, the central data center server 105 includes a bandwidth assignment module 110 and the regional server 115 a includes a bandwidth assignment module 120. The bandwidth assignment modules 110 and 120 can be configured to assign priorities to push and pull content requests and to assign between one of a push portion and a pull portion of an output bandwidth on a communication link based on the assigned priority. bandwidth. The bandwidth assignment modules 110 and 120 may also be configured to assign bandwidth to individual content files within the bandwidth portion based on the relative priority assigned to the individual content files. Although the area server 115a is the only area server exhibiting a bandwidth assignment module, it should be understood that other area servers may also include similar to the bandwidth assignment module 120 A bandwidth assignment module. In addition, according to various embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention, although only the first-level regional nodes 115a, 115b, 115c are shown between the central data center node 105 and the edge nodes 125a, 125b, 125c, it should be understood that the central data center node 105 and the edge There may be multiple levels of regional nodes between the nodes 125a, 125b, 125c.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary CDN according to some embodiments of the subject invention, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such configurations, but is intended to cover any configuration capable of performing the operations described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a data processing system 200 according to some embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention. The system may be used, for example, to implement the central data center node server 105 and the regional server 115a of FIG. 1 and may include a bandwidth assignment module. . The data processing system 200 includes an input device 205 (such as a keyboard or keypad) in communication with a processor 220, a display 210 and a memory 215. The data processing system 200 may further include a storage system 225, a speaker 230, and an I / O data port (multiple I / O data ports) 235 that are also in communication with the processor 220. Storage system 225 may include removable and / or fixed media such as floppy disks, ZIP drives, hard disks or the like, and virtual storage such as a random access memory disk (RAMDISK). The I / O data port 235 can be used to transfer information between the data processing system 200 and another computer system or a network (eg, the Internet). These components may be conventional components, such as those used in many conventional computing devices and those skilled in the art will generally know their functions relative to conventional operations. The memory 215 can be configured with a bandwidth assignment module 240, which can be used to assign the assigned bandwidth on an output communication link to the push and pull based on the relative priority assigned to the push and pull content requests. The content request may also assign a push bandwidth portion or pipeline and / or a pull bandwidth portion or pipeline to individual content files.

FIG. 3 illustrates a processor 300 and a memory 305 according to some embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention, which may be used in embodiments of data processing systems (such as the data processing system 200 of FIG. 2) to push and pull based on allocation Relative priority of content requests assigns an output The allocated bandwidth on the communication link is used to push and pull content requests and can also be used to assign a push bandwidth section or pipeline and / or a push bandwidth section or pipeline to individual content files. The processor 300 communicates with the memory 305 via a bit / data bus 310. The processor 300 may be, for example, a commercially available or customized microprocessor. The memory 305 is representative of one or more memory devices containing software and data for assigning bandwidth in accordance with some embodiments of the subject invention. The memory 305 may include, but is not limited to, the following types of devices: cache memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, SRAM, and DRAM.

As shown in FIG. 3, the memory 305 may contain up to five or more types of software and / or data: an operating system 315, a push / pull request bandwidth assignment module 330, and a content file bandwidth assignment module Group 335, a content file queue 340, and a communication module 345. The operating system 315 generally controls the operation of the data processing system. In particular, the operating system 315 may manage software and / or hardware resources of the data processing system and may coordinate the execution of programs by the processor 300. The push / pull request bandwidth assignment module 330 may be configured to assign the allocated bandwidth on an output communication link to the push and pull content request based on the relative priority assigned to the push and pull content request. The content file bandwidth assignment module 335 may be configured to assign a push bandwidth portion or pipeline and / or pull a bandwidth within the bandwidth portion or pipeline to an individual content file. The content file queue 340 may represent a queue of stored content files while waiting for transmission on an output communication link. Content files in the queue can be assigned various priorities with respect to each other. According to various embodiments of the subject invention, these priorities may be associated with a particular communication pipeline (eg, a push pipeline or a pull pipeline) or the same regardless of which pipeline is used for transmission. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the communication module 345 may be configured to manage a communication protocol for transmitting content over an output communication link.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates an illustrative example of a bandwidth that may be used in a data processing system (such as the data processing system 200 of FIG. 2) to, for example, assign a bandwidth for transmitting content files in a CDN, according to some embodiments of the subject invention. Hardware / software architecture, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited This configuration is intended to cover any configuration capable of performing the operations described herein. Furthermore, according to various embodiments, the functions of the data processing system 200 of FIG. 2 and the hardware / software architecture of FIG. 3 may be implemented in various ways, including (but not limited to) a single processor system, a multi-processor A network of systems, a multi-core processor system, or even a separate computer system.

To facilitate development, computer code can be written in a high-level programming language (such as Python, Java, C, and / or C ++) to perform the operations of the data processing system discussed above with respect to FIG. 3. In addition, computer program code for performing the operations of the present invention may also be written in other programming languages, such as (but not limited to) interpreted languages. Modules or routines can be written in combination of languages or even microcode to enhance performance and / or memory usage. It will be further understood that the functions of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a stylized digital signal processor or microprocessor.

The operation of the CDN according to one of the embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4, 6, and 9 to 11 and the network diagrams of FIGS. 5, 7, and 8. Referring now to FIG. 4, operations begin at block 400, where the push / pull bandwidth assignment module 330 assigns priority levels to push and pull content requests. At block 410, the push / pull request bandwidth assignment module 330 divides the output bandwidth located on a communication link based on the priority assigned at block 400, so as to generate one of the output bandwidth and the output bandwidth. One pull part. As shown in FIG. 5, a central data center server 505 has communication links to three regional servers 515a, 515b, and 515c, where the total bandwidth on the links is 10Gbps, 1Gbps, and 400Gbps, respectively. The priority of pushing and pulling content request assignments to the links to the three regional servers 515a, 515b, and 515c is shown in FIG. As for the communication link to the regional server 515a, the priority levels for pushing content requests and pulling content requests are the same, so each of them will be allocated the same part of the bandwidth. For the communication link to the regional server 515b, the pull content request is assigned a priority level that is twice the priority level of the push content request. As a result, a section for output bandwidth for pulling content requests is assigned Points will be double the portion of the output bandwidth assigned to drive content requests. A similar analysis applies to the communication links between the central data center server 505 and the area server 515c and between the area server 515b and the edge servers 525a, 525b, and 525c.

In addition to dividing the bandwidth on an output communication link to handle pushing and pulling content requests based on the priority assigned to pushing and pulling content requests, the total bandwidth can also be divided based on the priority levels associated with specific content files Push and pull the bandwidth within the part. Referring now to FIG. 6, the operation starts at block 600, in which the content file bandwidth allocation module 335 assigns priority levels to a plurality of content files passed through the pushing portion of the output bandwidth. At block 610, the content file bandwidth assignment module 335 assigns a priority level to the plurality of content files passed through the pull portion of the content bandwidth. At block 620, the content file bandwidth assignment module 335 assigns a portion of the output portion of the push portion of the bandwidth to a plurality of content files transmitted via the portion of the push portion of the bandwidth based on the priority assigned at block 600. At block 630, the content file bandwidth assignment module 335 assigns the portion of the output portion of the bandwidth to the plurality of content files passed through the portion of the bandwidth based on the priority assigned at block 600. As shown in FIG. 7, the server 705 may represent the central data center server 505 of FIG. 5, and the servers 715a, 715b, and 715c may represent the regional servers 515a, 515b, and 515c of FIG. 5, respectively. The output bandwidth between the central data center server 705 and the regional server 715a is 10 Gbps, which is divided into push and pull because the push and pull content requests have the same priority assigned to them as shown in FIG. 5 The equivalent part of the content request. Based on their relative priority assignment bandwidth as shown in FIG. 7 to the content files 1, 2 and 3, of which content file 3 is assigned half of the 5 Gbps assigned to promote content requests, and content file 2 is assigned assigned to promote One third of the 5 Gbps of content requests, and content archive 1 gets one sixth of the 5 Gbps assigned to drive content requests. A similar analysis applies to the communication link between the central data center server 705 and the regional servers 715b and 715c.

FIG. 8 illustrates a similar bandwidth distribution for one of various content files in a push and pull portion of a bandwidth between a regional server and multiple edge servers. As shown in Figure 8, The server 815b may represent the area server 515b of FIG. 5 and the servers 825a, 825b, and 825c may represent the edge servers 525a, 525b, and 525c of FIG. 5, respectively. The output bandwidth between the regional server 815b and the edge server 825a is 1 Gbps, which is divided into the content used for pushing and pulling because the request for pushing and pulling the content has the same priority assigned to it as shown in FIG. 5 The equivalent part of the request. Based on their relative priority assignment bandwidth as shown in FIG. 8, the promotion part is assigned to content files 1, 2 and 3, where content file 3 is assigned half of the 500 Mbps assigned to promote content requests, and content file 2 is assigned assigned to promote One-third of the 500 Mbps of content request and content file 1 gets one-sixth of the 500 Mbps assigned to drive the content request. A similar analysis applies to the communication link between the area server 815b and the edge servers 825b and 825c.

Referring now to FIG. 9, at block 900, the content file bandwidth assignment module 335, for example, assigns priority levels to individual content files including various content streams based on criteria including, but not limited to, when the The server accesses the content file, which edge nodes the content file is scheduled to be sent to, whether the content file is associated with a video on demand (VOD) service, whether the content file is associated with a live live topic and / or content distribution in the CDN Its current state (block 910). According to various embodiments of the subject invention, the content files buffered in, for example, the content file queue 340 of FIG. 3 may include, but are not limited to, video files, audio files, voice files, and / or text files.

Referring now to FIG. 10, at block 1000, the push / pull request bandwidth assignment module 330 (for example) assigns priority levels to push content requests and pull content requests based on criteria including, but not limited to, a content delivery network (CDN) The current state of the content distribution and / or time of day (eg, a particular time of day may have a relatively small amount of pull content requests from the user) (block 1010). Referring now to FIG. 11, in order not to waste the available bandwidth, at block 1100, when there is no pull content request, the push / pull request bandwidth assignment module 330 re-assigns the push content request to the bandwidth portion assigned to the pull content request. . Similarly, at block 1110, when there is no push content request, the push / pull request request bandwidth refers to The dispatch module 330 re-assigns the bandwidth portion assigned to the push content request to the pull content request. Similar principles apply to the division of bandwidth between content files based on the priority assigned to the content files within the driving and pulling parts of the output bandwidth.

Advantageously, by dynamically adjusting content used to launch various nodes in a CDN and serving content pull requests from users, the subject embodiment of the present invention allows a more efficient file transfer. Lower priority content files can be transmitted using the push pipeline in the CDN. The bandwidth of the CDN is therefore adjusted to deliver the files when a destination needs the files, while retaining as much bandwidth as possible to serve the services through the pull pipeline in the CDN Priority user request.

Further definition and examples:

In the above description of various embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art. It will be further understood that terms such as those defined in a common-use dictionary should be interpreted to have a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and related technology and should not be an idealized or overly defined term so clearly defined herein Formal meaning explained.

When an element is referred to as being "connected to," "coupled to," "responsive to" another element, or a variation thereof, it may be directly connected to, coupled to, or responsive to another element or there may be intervention element. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected to", "directly coupled to", "directly responding to" another element, or a variation thereof, there are no intervening elements present. In addition, "connected," "coupled," "responsive," or variations thereof as used herein may include wireless coupling, connection, or response. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For brevity and / or clarity, well-known functions or constructions need not be described in detail. The term "and / or" or "/" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As used herein, the terms “including,” “including,” “having,” or their variations are open-ended and include one or more of the stated features, integers, elements, steps, components, or functions, but do not exclude The presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions, or groups thereof. In addition, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g. (for example)" derived from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia" can be used to introduce or designate one or several common examples of a previously mentioned item and is not intended to limit this item. The common abbreviation "i.e. (i.e.)" from the Latin phrase "id est" can be used to designate a specific item from a more general narrative.

This document refers to block diagrams and / or flowcharts of computer-implemented methods, equipment (systems and / or devices) and / or computer program products to describe exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that one block of the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration can be implemented by computer program instructions executed by one or more computer circuits, and the combination of blocks illustrated by the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration. These computer program instructions can be provided to a general-purpose computer circuit, a dedicated computer circuit, and / or a processor circuit of another programmable data processing circuit to generate a machine for execution by the computer processor and / or other programmable data processing equipment. Instructions convert and control transistors, values stored in memory locations, and other hardware components within this circuit to implement block diagrams and / or flowchart blocks or functions / actions specified in flowchart blocks, and borrow This produces components (functions) and / or structures for implementing the functions / actions specified in the block diagrams and / or flowchart blocks (s).

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a tangible computer-readable medium that directs a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a specific way, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium generate implementation block diagrams And / or one of the flowchart blocks or instructions for the functions / actions specified in the flowchart blocks.

A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium may include an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor data storage system, device, or device. More specific examples of computer readable media would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM) Circuit, a read-only memory (ROM) circuit, an erasable and programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory) circuit, a portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and a portable Digital Video Disc Read Only Memory (DVD / Blu-ray Disc).

Computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer and / or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be executed on the computer and / or other programmable equipment to generate a computer-implemented program, so that the computer or other The instructions executed on the programming device provide steps for implementing the instructions / actions specified in the block diagrams and / or flowchart blocks or flowchart blocks. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in hardware and / or software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.) running on a processor (such as a digital signal processor). The processor may be collectively referred to as " Circuit, "" a module, "or variations thereof.

It should also be understood that in some alternative implementations, the functions / acts marked in the blocks may occur out of the order marked in the flowchart. For example, in fact, depending on the function / action involved, two blocks shown in succession may be executed substantially simultaneously or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order. Furthermore, the function of one of the known blocks of the flowchart and / or block diagram may be separated into multiple blocks and / or the function of two or more blocks of the flowchart and / or block diagram may be at least partially integrated. Finally, other block diagrams can be added / inserted between the blocks shown. Furthermore, although some of the drawings include arrows on the communication path to show one of the main directions of communication, it should be understood that communication can occur in a direction opposite to the arrows depicted.

In connection with the above description and drawings, many different embodiments have been disclosed herein. It should be understood that literally describing and illustrating each combination and sub-combination of these embodiments would be overly repetitive and confusing. Accordingly, this description, including drawings, should be understood as a complete written description of the various exemplary combinations and sub-combinations of the embodiments and of the methods and procedures for making and using them, and will support the rights of any such combination or sub-combination.

Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention. All such changes and modifications herein are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

Claims (21)

A method for operating a content delivery network, comprising: connecting a first server and a second server in the content delivery network based on the relative priorities assigned to processing push content requests and pull content requests, respectively. The output bandwidth of a specific communication link is divided into a pushing pipeline portion and a pulling pipeline portion, wherein the pushing pipeline portion is operative to transport content to be pushed via the specific communication link, and the pulling pipeline portion Is operated to deliver content to be pulled over the specific communication link; assign priority to one of the first plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to the second server; based on the assignment to the first plurality of content files Divide the push pipeline section into a first plurality of sections and assign the first plurality of sections to the first plurality of content files to be transmitted via the push pipeline section respectively; assign the priority to A second plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to one of the second servers; and based on the priority assigned to the second plurality of content files, the Movable second line portion is divided into a plurality of portions and the second plurality of portions are to be assigned to the pulling through of the second plurality of content files transmission line portion. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the first plurality of content files includes assigning different priorities to the first plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priority levels to the second plurality of content files includes assigning different priority levels to the second plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the first plurality of content files includes assigning based on a plurality of edge node destinations in the content delivery network that are associated with the first plurality of content files, respectively. The priority ranges from the first plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the second plurality of content files includes assigning based on a plurality of edge node destinations in the content delivery network that are associated with the second plurality of content files, respectively. The priority levels are up to the second plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the first plurality of content files comprises assigning the priority based on whether one or more of the first plurality of content files are associated with an on-demand video service Priority to the first plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priority levels to the second plurality of content files includes assigning these based on whether one or more of the second plurality of content files are associated with an on-demand video service. Priority to the second plurality of content files. If the method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priority levels to the first plurality of content files includes assigning these based on whether one or more of the first plurality of content files are associated with a live event that occurs on the fly Priority to the first plurality of content files. If the method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priority levels to the second plurality of content files includes assigning these based on whether one or more of the second plurality of content files are associated with a live event that occurs on the fly Priority to the second plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the first plurality of content files includes assigning the priorities to the first plurality of content files based on a current state of a content distribution on the content delivery network. . The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priorities to the second plurality of content files includes assigning the priorities to the second plurality of content files based on a current state of a content distribution on the content delivery network. . The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of content files and the second plurality of content files include video, audio, audio, and / or text. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a priority to the push content requests based on at least one of a current state of a content distribution on the content delivery network and a current time of day. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a priority to the pull content requests based on at least one of a current state of a content distribution on the content delivery network and a current time of day. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific communication link is a first communication link, the method further comprises: second communication to one of the first server and a third server in the content delivery network. Assigning priority levels to push and pull content requests respectively; and assigning push content requests from the first servo based on the priority levels assigned to the push and pull content requests to the second communication link, respectively One of the output bandwidth of the third server to the third server, and one of the output bandwidth of the third server from the first server to the third server. The method of claim 15, further comprising: assigning priority to a first plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to one of the third servers; assigning priority to a second plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to one of the third servers Content files; based on the priority levels assigned to the first plurality of content files, assigning a plurality of portions of the pushing portion of the output bandwidth from the first server to the third server to the A first plurality of content files; and a plurality of the pull portion of the output bandwidth assigned from the first server to the third server based on the priorities assigned to the second plurality of content files, respectively Sections to the second plurality of content files. The method of claim 1, wherein the first server is a network data center node in the content delivery network, and the second server is a regional node in the content delivery network. The method of claim 1, wherein the first server is a regional node in the content delivery network, and the second server is an edge node in the content delivery network. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when there is no pull content request, regardless of the relative priorities assigned to the push and pull content requests respectively, reassigning the pull pipeline portion of the output bandwidth to the Push pipeline portion; and when there is no push content request, regardless of the relative priorities assigned to the push and pull content requests, reassign the push pipeline portion of the output bandwidth to the pull pipeline portion. A first server includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the processor. The at least one memory includes computer-readable program code, which is executed by the at least one processor. , Causing the processor to perform the following operations, which include: based on the relative priorities assigned to processing push content requests and pull content requests, respectively, to connect the first server and a second server in a content delivery network The output bandwidth of a specific communication link of the device is divided into a pushing pipeline portion and a pulling pipeline portion, wherein the pushing pipeline portion is operable to transmit content to be pushed via the specific communication link, and the pulling pipeline Some are operated to deliver content to be pulled over the specific communication link; assign priority to one of the first plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to the second server; based on the assignment to the first plurality of content Priority of the file, divide the push pipeline section into a first plurality of sections and assign the first plurality of sections to the push pipeline section respectively Transmitting the first plurality of content files; assigning priority to a second plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to the second server; and based on the priority assigned to the second plurality of content files, The pull pipeline section is divided into a second plurality of sections and the second plurality of sections are respectively assigned to the second plurality of content files to be transmitted through the pull pipeline section. A computer program product includes: a non-transitory computer-readable program medium including computer-readable program code recorded on the computer-readable program code, which when executed by a processor causes the processing The server performs the following operations, including the following: based on the relative priorities assigned to process push content requests and pull content requests, respectively, to connect to a first server and a second server in a content delivery network for specific communications The output bandwidth of the link is divided into a pushing pipeline portion and a pulling pipeline portion, wherein the pushing pipeline portion is operated for transmitting content to be pushed through the specific communication link, and the pulling pipeline portion is operated by Delivering content to be pulled via the specific communication link; assigning priority to the first plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to the second server; based on the priority assigned to the first plurality of content files , Dividing the pushing pipeline part into a first plurality of parts and assigning the first plurality of parts to the ones to be transmitted through the pushing pipeline part respectively A plurality of content files; assigning a priority level to a second plurality of content files scheduled to be sent to the second server; and dividing the pull pipeline part based on the priority levels assigned to the second plurality of content files Is a second plurality of parts and the second plurality of parts are respectively assigned to the second plurality of content files to be transmitted through the pull pipeline part.